Sierra Moore, 8, gets a high-five from a Denver Broncos cheerleader on Saturday. Sierra, in an outing arranged by the Denver Health Foundation, hung out and ate lunch with the cheerleaders, and had her hair and makeup done.

Sierra Moore was all smiles Saturday afternoon as she received the red-carpet treatment from the Denver Broncos cheerleading squad.

Even in the pouring rain, Moore watched and tried to mimic the squad during practice. After all, she wants to be a cheerleader when she grows up.

“You get to meet people, have fun and make cheers,” she said, when asked about her ambition.

If not for the wheelchair her father, Michael Moore, used to whisk her around the field, it was nearly impossible to tell that the 8-year-old had been through eight surgeries to repair damage she suffered from a drive-by shooting in the Curtis Park neighborhood of Denver in June.

Clad in jeans, boots and a “High School Musical” T-shirt, Sierra and her father spent several hours before the game hanging out with the cheerleaders at Invesco Field at Mile High and in the locker room, eating lunch, and getting her hair and makeup done. Afterward, they got to watch the Broncos take on the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’s been one of my daughter’s dreams to meet the cheerleaders,” said her father, who also spent a lot of time smiling. “This is an amazing event and opportunity. She’s been on pins and needles.”

The excitement began when the cheerleaders ran out on the field for practice, many of them giving Sierra high-fives as she looked on, seemingly awestruck.

Back in the locker room, every cheerleader stopped by to talk to Sierra, and they autographed a Broncos cheerleader calendar and a squad poster. Between bites of salad and cake, Sierra answered questions from the squad and could be heard saying “nice to meet you,” and “thank you” to everyone.

Sierra said the best part was sitting in a beauty chair getting her hair done, which consisted of tying orange and blue ribbons around her braids, while she talked openly with some of the cheerleaders.

“I hope we make her happy,” said cheerleader Kaoruko Horike. “She has made us happy.”

The cheerleaders are required to perform at least 20 hours of community service every season, although many of them contribute more time.

“It’s a great experience for us,” said cheerleader Terita Walker. “We often don’t get to see what the community gets from us. It’s good to see her smiling.”

The outing was arranged by the Denver Health Foundation, which originally auctioned the “Denver Broncos Cheerleader for a Day” package at a fundraiser last April for about $3,500. A company won the package and donated it to Denver Health.

Sierra was hospitalized at Denver Health Medical Center for two weeks after the shooting. This is the first time the Broncos hosted such an event.

“We thought she was the perfect recipient for this,” said Candice Jones, special-events coordinator for the Denver Health Foundation and a former Broncos cheerleader.

While the football game didn’t appeal to Sierra as much as it did her father — who said he’s a Cowboys fan — the outing solidified her ambition to become a cheerleader, although she didn’t know if she would be up for cheering in the rain.